Wing’s (like life itself) can become a bit boring if you don’t change the method of preparation once in a while, so last night’s wings got a different twist of flavor by marinating them for 24 hours in fermented black bean sauce, lime juice, hoisin sauce, sriracha, soy sauce and granulated garlic. Then roasted at 385 F for ninety minutes, basting often with the marinade. Good Stuff 🙂

Saute pepperoni until starting to change color, add garlic, saute until fragrant. Add merlot and vodka, simmer until most liquid has evaporated. Add yoghurt, tomatoes, a bit of the grated cheese, salt, pepper and the pasta, mix well. Adjust seasoning if necessary. If too thick, add some of the pasta cooking liquid. If too thin, ad some grated cheese.
To serve, sprinkle with more cheese and basil leaves.

Note :
I am aware that most cooks will chiffonade the basil. However, personally I don’t like the texture this will give me. It reminds me of hair in the food which is not very appealing to me 😦
Therefore I like to add whole leaves which become soft and tender immediately as they touch the hot food and give you a much more pleasant texture / mouthfeel 🙂

>>Tonkatsu ! Sounds exotic and foreign ?
Rightfully so. However, tonkatsu is a common japanese dish, usually served with shredded cabbage and a worcester based dipping sauce. But, if you take the japanese name and replace it with the english name, what you get is ” breadedpork cutlet”.
In this version I have used a pork chop instead of pork cutlets and have omitted the shredded cabbage. Anyway, I usually prefer vinaigrette dressed shredded iceberg lettuce instead of the cabbage. I also use my own modified tonkatsu sauce recipe which I prefer to any store bought version.
But, can you still call it Tonkatsu ? You be the judge 🙂>

Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

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Tonkatsu & Dipping Sauce

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Tonkatsu :

Season the pork chops with kosher salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Bread with flour, egg and panko bread crumbs. Saute in peanut oil until golden and cooked through, but not dry. Remove to absorbent paper and pat dry. Let rest for five minutes before cutting into wide strips. Serve with dipping sauce and lemon wedges. Enjoy !

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” Braised beef ribs in red wine with potato gnocchi and vegetables in curry cream ” >
I have prepared beef ribs in many different ways over the years, but , in my humble opinion, this preparation stands high above the rest. Just make sure you don’t skimp on the wine , both the quality and the quantity you use. Use lots of onion and garlic as well and stay away from thickening the sauce with flour ! Just press all the vegetables which you cook in the sauce through a fine mesh sieve, it’s the only thickener the sauce will need. The texture and flavor are just so much better this way. >
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Season ribs with salt and pepper. Saute ribs in oil until evenly browned on both sides. Remove, set aside. Saute carrots and onions until caramelized. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add back ribs. Add celery, tomatoes and wine. Simmer until ribs are very tender but not falling apart. Remove ribs, hold warm. Strain sauce through a fine mesh sieve, then pressing all the vegetables through with a bench scraper. Return sauce to simmer until it has the desired texture. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Return ribs to sauce to re-heat. To serve, place ribs on serving dish, nape generously with sauce and sprinkle with scallions. Serve with potato gnocchi and curried cauliflower/carrots. .>

+I remember when, many years ago, I got my first whiff of fermented fish sauce. It was one of the most disgusting smells I had ever encountered in a kitchen and there was no way I would ever put something this vile into my food !
Forward a few years. Fish sauce (and it’s cousin, shrimp paste) has become a permanent staple in my cup board. I use it for many of my favorite asian dishes, although I still don’t use it as a dipping sauce. In this dish, it is one of the three seasoning pillars . Fish sauce, caramel sauce and ginger play the major part, while garlic, salt and pepper play second fiddle. If you are not used to using fish sauce or shrimp paste, just don’t smell it before you cook it. Once you add it to your food and cook it for a while, it transforms itself into pure magic, giving the final product great flavor and debt. ( Umami, if you must 🙂.

Season chicken with salt and black pepper and saute until golden brown on both sides. Remove onto absorbent paper. Saute pearl onions and chilies. Remove to absorbent paper. Saute sliced onions, garlic and ginger until translucent. Add vinegar, caramel, and all seasoning. Add chicken and slowly simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce has reduced enough to cover the chicken. If the sauce becomes too thick before he chicken is cooked all the way, add a bit of water. If the sauce is too thin when the chicken is done, remove chicken and reduce until desired texture is achieved. At this point, strain the sauce if you like it smooth, otherwise, serve it more rustic with all the bits and pieces still in the sauce. Now, return the chicken, whole chiles and pearl onions. Simmer for another minute while basting the chicken to make sure it is well covered in sauce. To serve, add chicken to plate, cover with remaining sauce, top with chilis, onions, cilantro and lime wedges.>Bon Appetit ! Life is Good !>

* Saute sugar until lightly browned. Add water. If you have not done this before – BE VERY CAREFUL ! This splashes easily and burns right throuhg your skin if you are not careful. I suggest to put the pot into the sink and open the waterspout just a bit while keeping your head as far away as possible 🙂 Stir until smooth and all sugar is desolved. You should now have a light brown liquid. If the sugar solidified, don’t worry. Just put it back on low heat, stir frequently and simmer until all solids are liquified....

A post worth writing / reading you ask ? Well, if you ever had a good curry wurst, you start salivating just by reading the title. If you never had one, you might shake your head in disbelieve. What could be so special about a sausage drowned in curry-ketchup ? What the heck is curry ketchup ? Like many things in life, a mere description can never do justice to the actual experience of eating the real thing. I for one love my caviar, foie gras, lobster and so forth. But as you must have realized by now, I just as much appreciate the simpler thing’s in live. “Curry wurst mit fritten” certainly is one of them. Now, there are many different sausages suitable for this dish, but since I live in the states, it is more difficult in certain areas to source good quality sausages. However, I have access to very good mild Italian sausages which fit perfectly. As for the curry sauce, many elaborate sauces have been concocted over time, some more, most less successful. What works best for me is a quality ketchup mixed with roasted garlic puree, good quality curry powder and a bit of salt. That’s it ! Please don’t knock it before you tried it. I have surprised many a chef over the years with this simple sauce (condiment), most of whom were eager to get the “secret recipe”. Important also is to sprinkle a fair amount of the curry powder over the sauced sausage just before serving. I can think of no other dish in the world were I would suggest that, but here it works just beautifully. Also very important are first class, crispy french fries, sprinkled generously with sea salt and dipped into mayonnaise. Yep, the comercial kind of mayo works best here. Save the good home made stuff for something else 🙂

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Today I wanted to use my newly purchased glass cooking vessel, “guaranteed stove top save”
Well, it might have been be save from talking or painting or other such mundane undertakings, but it certainly was not save from exploding into a thousand pieces.
So much for ” guaranteed warranties ” . ( Kind of like the promises of our politician’s ).
Any way, after I cleaned up the mess and calmed Bella down, I proceeded to cook dinner the old fashion way, on the stove top in a rigged metal steamer...
Braised pork ribs with fermented black bean sauce & rice...

In a steamer (or makeshift steamer)put all ingredients except
half the cilantro you are using in the bottom of the steamer.
Add a wire rack, place ribs on top and cover air tight.
Steam for one hour or until ribs are tender.
Remove ribs and set aside. Strain sauce and brush both sides of ribs.
Put ribs back on rack on a clean baking tray and bake in oven until
nicely glazed, repeatedly adding more sauce as needed.
To serve, nape with remaining sauce and sprinkle with
cilantro and some more chilis.

Today I did not feel for meat or seafood for lunch, so a vegetarian bolognese over pasta seemed just fine. Pasta and sauce ! What could be wrong ? Nothing 🙂....
Cook the spaghetti until al dente, strain.
Sautee carrots, celery, onion, garlic and oregano in butter,
add crushed tomato, salt, cayenne pepper, maggi seasoning
and simmer until veggies ar done.
Add pasta, generous amounts of butter and grated parmesan cheese.
mix until a light sauce coats your pasta. The texture should be such
that when you plate your pasta there should be no water separating
from the sauce.
(Alternatively, top pasta with sauce as in picture)
If consistency is too liquid, add parmesan cheese.
If too consistency is too thick, add pasta cooking water.

Below find a link to a cooking video of mine where I cooked “Fusilli Bolognese”